MOVE IN ONE PACKAGE TOWARD THE
END OF THE THIRD QUARTER OF THE
YEAR.
>> WE’LL KEEP OUR EYES ON THAT.
>>> ANOTHER STORY COMING OUT OF
THE CONGRESS FROM THE NEW YORK
TIMES SITING THREE SOURCES THE
TIMES REPORTS REPUBLICAN
CONGRESSMAN MATT GAETZ OF
FLORIDA IS UNDER FEDERAL
INVESTIGATION FOR POSSIBLE SEX
TRAFFICKING.
THEIR LOOKING INTO GAETZ, A
CLOSE ALLY TO DONALD TRUMP HAD A
SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH A
17-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND WHETHER HE
PAID FOR HER TO TRAVEL WITH HIM.
THE INVESTIGATION REPORTEDLY
BEGAN IN THE FINAL MONTHS OF THE
TRUMP ADMINISTRATION UNDER
ATTORNEY GENERAL WILLIAM BARR.
SOURCES TELL THE "TIMES" THE
INVESTIGATION IS PART OF A
LARGER PROBE INTO A POLITICAL
ALLY OF GAETZ A MAN NAMED JOEL
GREENBERG PICTURED HERE WITH
GAETZ AND ROGER STONE IN 2017.
GREENBERG RESIGNED AS TAX
COLLECTOR LAST JUNE AFTER
INDICTED ON SEX TRAFFICKING
CHARGES INVOLVING AT LEAST ONE
UNDERAGE GIRL.
NO CHARGES HAVE BEEN BROUGHT
AGAINST CONGRESSMAN GAETZ AND
THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS NOT
COMMENTING ON THE STORY.
>>> WORTH NOTING IN 2017, GAETZ
WAS THE ONLY MEMBER OF CONGRESS
TO VOTE AGAINST A BILL TO COMBAT
HUMAN TRAFFICKING.
HE DEFENDED HIS VOTE SAYING IT
REPRESENTED, QUOTE, MISSION
CREEP.
CONGRESSMAN GAETZ IS DENYING THE
ALLEGATIONS REPORTED BY "THE NEW
YORK TIMES" AND TOLD THE PAPER
HIS LAWYER WERE IN TOUCH WITH
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT INVESTIGATORS
AND TOLD HE IS THE SUBJECT, NOT
THE TARGET, OF AN INVESTIGATION.
HE SAID, QUOTE, I ONLY KNOW THAT
IT HAS TO DO WITH WOMEN.
I HAVE A SUSPICION SOMEONE IS
TRYING TO RECATEGORIZE MY
GENEROSITY TO EX-GIRLFRIENDS AS
SOMETHING MORE UNTOWARD.
CONGRESSMAN GAETZ CALLED THE
INVESTIGATION PART OF ELABORATE
SCHEME INVOLVING FALSE SEX
ALLEGATIONS TO EXTORT HIM AND
HIS FAMILY FOR $25 MILLION THAT
BEGAN THIS MONTH.
HERE IS WHAT HE SAID ABOUT IT
LAST NIGHT ON FOX NEWS FOLLOWED
BY THE HOST TUCKER CARLSON’S
REACTION.
>> "THE NEW YORK TIMES" IS
RUNNING A STORY THAT I HAVE
TRAVELED WITH A 17-YEAR-OLD
WOMAN.
AND THAT IS VARY FIE BLI FALSE
AND LOOK AT MY TRAVEL RECORDS
AND SEE THAT THAT IS NOT THE
CASE.
WHAT IS HAPPENING IS AN
EXTORTION OF ME AND MY FAMILY
INVOLVING A FORMER DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE OFFICIAL.
ON MARCH 16th, MY FATHER GOT A
TEXT MESSAGE DEMANDING A MEETING
WHEREIN A PERSON DEMANDED $25
MILLION IN EXCHANGE FOR MAKING
HORRIBLE SEX TRAFFICKING
ALLEGATIONS AGAINST ME GO AWAY.
OUR FAMILY WAS SO TROUBLED BY
THAT, WE WENT TO THE LOCAL FBI.
AND THE FBI AND THE DEPARTMENT
OF JUSTICE WERE SO CONCERNED
ABOUT THIS ATTEMPTED EXTORTION
OF A MEMBER OF CONGRESS, THAT
THEY ASKED MY DAD TO WEAR A
WIRE, WHICH HE DID WITH THE
FORMER DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICIAL.
>> IF YOU SAW OUR MATT GAETZ
INTERVIEW THAT’S ONE OF THE
WEIRDEST INTERVIEWS I CONDUCTED.
THAT JUST APPEARED IN THE NEWS A
COUPLE HOURS AGO CERTAINTY
THERE’S ALWAYS MORE THAN YOU
READ IN THE NEWSPAPER WE CALLED
MATT GAETZ AND ASKED HIM TO COME
ON AND TELL US MORE AS HE DID.
I DON’T THINK THAT CLARIFIED
MUCH, BUT IT CERTAINLY SHOWED
THIS IS A DEEPLY INTERESTING
STORY AND WE’LL BE FOLLOWING IT.
DON’T QUITE UNDERSTAND IT.
BUT WE’LL BRING YOU MORE WHEN WE
FIND OUT.
>> LET’S BRING IN ONE OF THE
REPORTERS WHO BROKE THE STORY,
NEW YORK TIMES MICHAEL SCHMIDT,
AND MSNBC NATIONAL SECURITY
ANALYST AND ALSO WITH US STATE
ATTORNEY FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY
DAVE AARONBERG.
MIKE, HELP US WALK THROUGH THIS
STORY A LITTLE BIT.
THERE’S A LOT GOING ON.
INVESTIGATION INTO THIS MAN
NAMED JOEL GREENBERG COMING OUT
OF FLORIDA.
SEMINOLE COUNTY, FLORIDA.
AND APPEARS CONGRESSMAN GAETZ,
AN ALLY WAS SWEPT UP IN THIS.
WHAT EXACTLY IS THE ALLEGATION
AGAINST THE CONGRESSMAN?
>> AS YOU WERE LAYING OUT, THE
GOVERNMENT IS LOOKING AT WHETHER
GAETZ HAD A RELATIONSHIP WITH A
17-YEAR-OLD GIRL AND WHETHER HE
VIOLATED FEDERAL LAW BY PAYING
FOR THAT GIRL TO TRAVEL.
YOU KNOW, BY TRANSPORTING THAT
GIRL.
AND LOOK, THERE ARE A LOT OF
FEDERAL LAWS IN THE SEX
TRAFFICKING AREA.
YOU KNOW, BASICALLY THAT TRY AND
STOP PEOPLE FROM EXPLOITING
THOSE UNDER THE AGE OF 18.
AS YOU WERE SAYING, THERE HAVE
NOT BEEN ANY CHARGES AGAINST
GAETZ.
THERE HAVE BEEN CHARGES, THOUGH,
AGAINST THIS SEMINOLE COUNTY TAX
COLLECTOR.
THAT’S WHERE THIS INVESTIGATION
IS SORT OF COME OUT OF.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS FOUND AN
ARRAY OF CORRUPTION BY THE TAX
COLLECTOR.
THEY’VE INDICTED HIM ON MANY
DIFFERENT CHARGES.
RANGING FROM HIS OWN DEALINGS
WITH SOMEONE UNDER THE AGE OF 18
TO HOW HE WAS TARGETING HIS OWN
POLITICAL RIVALS.
SO, SORT OF A FAIRLY ROBUST
FEDERAL INVESTIGATION THERE.
AND GAETZ LAYING OUT THAT THIS
VERY SORT OF ELABORATE SCHEME,
WHICH WE TRIED TO LISTEN TO AND
HEAR HIM OUT ON ABOUT HOW THIS
IS ALL A WAY OF JUST TRYING TO
TAKE -- GET MONEY FROM HIM
SOMEHOW AND SAYING BY US WRITING
THIS STORY WE DISRUPTED A FBI
STING OPERATION OR SOME SORT OF
OPERATION THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO
GO DOWN TODAY IN WHICH THE FBI
WAS GOING TO SEE SOME SORT OF
EVIDENCE OF THIS.
AND THAT OUR STORY, YOU KNOW,
SOMEHOW THE INFORMATION WAS
LEAKED TO US, DESIGNED TO UP END
THAT OPERATION.
>> SO MIKE, HE SAYS THERE WAS NO
17-YEAR-OLD GIRLFRIEND.
HE DIDN’T TRAVEL WITH THE
17-YEAR-OLD GIRLFRIEND.
DOES THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAVE
DOCUMENTATION THAT THIS WOMAN
EXISTS AND THAT THERE WAS, IN
FACT, TRAVEL PAID FOR BY
CONGRESSMAN GAETZ?
>> SO, WE HAVE NOT SEEN
EVERYTHING -- WE HAVE NOT SEEN
WHAT THE JUSTICE DEPARTMENT IS
BASING THEIR INVESTIGATION ON.
WE WOULD SEE THAT WHEN -- IF AND
WHEN HE IS CHARGED.
WE KNOW THAT THIS IS THE ISSUE
THAT THEY’RE LOOKING AT.
WE KNOW THAT IT WAS SOMETHING
THAT BEGAN UNDER THE BARR
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT.
THIS WAS SOMETHING THAT SENIOR
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS WHO
HAD BEEN APPOINTED BY DONALD
TRUMP HAD TO SIGN OFF ON BECAUSE
GAETZ IS A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL,
A SENIOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL.
AND SOMEONE WHO THE JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT -- SENIOR JUSTICE
DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS BASICALLY
HAVE TO GIVE THE GO AHEAD ON AN
INVESTIGATION FOR.
MY GUESS IS -- AND YOU STARTED
TO SEE SOME OF THIS A BIT LAST
NIGHT BUT THAT GAETZ WILL
PORTRAY THIS INVESTIGATION AS A
BIDEN JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
ATTEMPTED TO GO AFTER HIM.
THAT IS A COMMON REPUBLICAN
REFRAIN IN SITUATIONS LIKE THIS.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT STARTED
UNDER ATTORNEY GENERAL BARR.
>> YEAH.
IT’S IMPORTANT TO POINT THAT
OUT.
THIS STARTED UNDER THE TRUMP
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT, UNDER
WILLIAM BARR.
SO I SHARE TUCKER’S CONFUSION
AND SOUNDS LIKE YOUR CONFUSION
ABOUT CONGRESSMAN GAETZ’S
EXPLANATION AND LISTENED CLOSELY
AND READ IT IN YOUR PIECE.
HOW DO YOU UNWIND THIS EXTORTION
PLOTD FOR $25 MILLION THAT HIS
FATHER WAS WEARING A WIRE AND
WORKING WITH THE FBI.
HOW IS THAT RELATED TO THE
ALLEGATION AGAINST HIM HERE?
>> I LISTENED TO CONGRESSMAN
GAETZ EXPLAIN THIS TO US
YESTERDAY.
I ASKED HIM AN ARRAY OF
QUESTIONS ABOUT IT.
YOU KNOW, I STRUGGLE TO FOLLOW
ALL OF IT.